The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-04-13
THE TAIIY-SHE GT CRIMES.


THE TALLY-sHE. TT GRIMES.
In the News of yestera ay it is said that
''There is a whimper from. the courthouse
that the grand jury will stal I'd three agalnst
three in the election conspirac. v cases, being
strict party vote" The inform aation came to
the Journal that very near rels i've OF one OF
the grand jurors had stated that 1.-THE thing
was fixed, and there would be no il Ndictments
in the tallysheet forgery cases. tt MS was as
long ago as last Saturday. Both the 'whimp-
err" in the News and the quite direct il forma-
ton last quoted confirm the assum ption
upon which the editorial in Mondays Jor rnal
was predicated. We believe it to be pre- tty
we'll settled that the present graz ID
jury will not return indictment. !
against any person for the out
rageous crime of November last, and it
may be accepted as equally certain that the
vote whereby such conclusion is arrived at
has been, or will be, on the strict partisan
line. the three Democratic members declining
to make any presentment and the three Re-
publicans in favor of doing so. One strong
reason for suspecting or believing this is, that
from the moment the infamous fraud was COM
mitted and made public the Democratic party,
as party has stood solidly and unfinchingly
by the crime, and has hindered by every pos
sible means an investigation into the for
gerry, and the indictment of any
body for it. The attitude of the
Democratic party, by the words and action of
its authorized leaders and representatives, to-
ward this crime is, by all odds, the most ser-
Gus and suggestive fact in connection with it.
That when an honorable citizen like Mr. Will
lam Henderson takes it upon himself to unite
with other citizens for the investigation of
such bold, glaring, damnable forgery as that
of using erasers and acids on tally-sheets for
the purpose of changing the results of pop
u]ar election, he is met with the solid opposi-
ton of his party, and is personally denounced
as no Democrat by the assumed State organ of
Democracy, is an index of demoralized
condition Of sentiment that bodies worse
for the future of the city than even the COM
mission of the crime. That leading Democrats,
prominent citizens in business not only
view such fraud with complacence, but can
condone and defend it, is a more startling fact
than that few scoundrels are found who will.
in back room, apply acid to official cleo
ton return and scratch out tallies with an
eraser. There are leading and influential
Democrats in this city who openly crticise
and oppose the effort to discover the criminals
who, with an unblushing clumsiness unparal-
| leled in the annals of political frauds and
| forgeries, butchered the returns of Marion
| county in the last election.
In such state of party sentiment, it is
| little wonder that partisans on grand jury
should deliberately and stubbornly steel their
faces and consciences against evidence that is
submitted to them, and should care more to
FIX things SO that their party may not be
injured as they view it, by the indictment of
some of the local workers" and ''bosses,
than to vindicate the law, establish Justice
and protect the sanctity of the ballot. Bat,
none the less, the duty is one that must be
constantly thrust before the attention OF the
people, to the end that a sentiment be devel-
oped and maintained that will put an end to
such crimes and to such hideous travesties on
law and justice.
While the secrets of the grand jury room
are sacredly guarded. and no man can be held
to answer, except for perjury, for his action
as a grand juror, it cannot be possible that
any court worthy the name of court will allow
such scandal as the ignoring of crime like
that of last November to 20 on under its very
nose Courts of justice cannot be made
mockery of, even by grand jurors who hole
partisanship above citizenship, and who care
more for the dictation of some little "boss'
than for the solemnity of an oath. Their,
must be some way of getting at the facts
The general impression is that evidence no
only sufficient to iudict, but to convict befor
! traverse jury, has been submitted t.